Peter Tatchell joins campaign to suppress Hizb ut-Tahrir’s right to free speech

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Joel_TitusPeter Tatchell has announced that he will be joining a demonstration against Hizb ut-Tahrir’s International Khilafah Conference at the Water Lily Centre in Tower Hamlets on Saturday.

The demonstration has been organised by a new group called the Anti-Extremism Alliance, which has already issued an Open letter to Tower Hamlets Council and East London Advertiser demanding that the Water Lily cancel the booking.

You might wonder how an avowed defender of free expression like Tatchell got involved in this. As we have previously pointed out, he holds the formal position that “freedom of speech is so precious that it must be defended, even when we disagree with the sentiments expressed” and “should be limited only in exceptional circumstances – when it slips into inciting violence and murder”. And nobody supposes that Hizb ut-Tahrir will be using Saturday’s conference to advocate violence or murder. We can only conclude that Tatchell’s absolute commitment to free speech ceases to apply when the people expressing the disagreeable sentiments are Muslims.

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‘Peacefully protesting against militant Islam’ – more EDL arrests

Posted on by Bob Pitt

See “English Defence League stage demonstration in Brierfield – four arrests”, Burnley Express, 5 July 2011

And “Six arrested as English Defence League protests in Huddersfield town centre”, Huddersfield Daily Examiner, 5 July 2011

Meanwhile, EDL leader “Tommy Robinson” has been indignantly denying that the EDL’s demonstration in Cambridge on Saturday poses any kind of threat to public order:

“We are not racist thugs. Which was the last town centre we rampaged through? We have gone from possibly being a rampaging mess to a structured, organised, peaceful protest movement party.”

Hate suspects sought after pig’s head thrown at proposed mosque in Bletchley

Posted on by Bob Pitt

BNP Bletchley mosque protestA pig’s head was thrown on to the roof of a disused pub which is due to be turned into a mosque.

A video has been posted on the YouTube website, in which a shot of a dismembered pig is followed by footage of two men clearly throwing something on top of The Plough, a former rock pub on Manor Road in Bletchley.

And police have confirmed they are treating it as a religiously motivated hate crime after they discovered some “pork products” at 11.40am on Friday, June 24.

The pub is due to be converted into a Muslim place of worship after the plan received permission on Thursday, April 14, and has already been the subject of vandalism – there are also reports of this type of incident happening before.

The application, made as a current mosque on Duncombe Street is becoming too small for the community, has already attracted protests from the British National Party, and even prompted right wing group England is Ours to invite American pastor Terry Jones, who arranged a Koran burning.

MK NEWS tried speaking to members of the Muslim community in Bletchley. One resident, who did not wish to be named, said: “The community doesn’t want to comment because they don’t want to give the people who did this the publicity.”

Thames Valley Police is now investigating the incident. Chief Inspector Ed Mclean said: “We are treating this incident as being a religiously motivated hate crime and officers are working closely with the local community to identify those responsible. This type of religiously motivated hate crime is unacceptable and will not be tolerated in Milton Keynes.

“Officers did attend the mosque earlier in the morning, at about 8.20am, after a member of the public reported some men acting suspiciously. Officers conducted an area search but were unable able to locate any offenders. I would appeal to anyone who saw any suspicious activity in the area between 8am and 11.30am to contact police urgently.”

Anyone with any information should contact 0845 8 505 505, or call Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555 111.

MK News, 6 July 2011

The plan for the new mosque has been the subject of protests by the British National Party (see here, here, here and here) – a campaign that was hailed by Nick Griffin as an example of the “increased militancy” that he promised from the BNP.

Right-wing press gives another boost to Anjem Choudary

Posted on by Bob Pitt

ENGAGE draws our attention to yet another article in the right-wing press boosting the profile of Anjem Choudary and his tiny gang of provocateurs.

Under the headline “Dewsbury, Bradford and Tower Hamlets … where Islamic extremists want to establish independent states with sharia law”, the Daily Mail reports that Muslims Against Crusades (MAC) have called for “Islamic emirates” to be established in areas of the UK with large Muslim populations. The fact that there isn’t the remotest possibility of MAC achieving that objective is of course of no interest to the Mail.

As has repeatedly been pointed out, Choudary and the right-wing press enjoy a symbiotic relationship. Papers like the Mail, the Express and the Star attract readers by feeding them paranoid fantasies about the “Islamification” of the UK, while Choudary happily provides these papers with the material they need to promote their racist myths, in exchange for which they offer him and his irrelevant group of misfits free publicity.

The victims are of course the British Muslim community who have to suffer the consequences of this irresponsible journalism – not least the assistance it gives to the far right.

EDL and MAC article

NZ Muslim women ‘regularly’ told to remove veils

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Two veil wearing Muslim women, living in New Zealand, say they are often asked to remove them. They were speaking on TV ONE’s Close Up about the case of a woman who was refused entry to a bus because she was wearing a burqa.

The incident happened when the woman, a student from Saudi Arabia, was trying to board a bus in Auckland in May. The student, who was wearing a veil with only the eyes exposed, was left crying on the street after reportedly being shouted at by the driver. However, it was not an isolated incident as two days earlier a driver for the same company told another woman to remove her veil.

In Australia, three non-Muslim women wearing the burqa immediately felt the weight of stares when they stepped out into a city centre, as part of a television programme to gauge the public reaction. In a mall they were subjected to verbal attacks from women with comments like “I’d pull it off you right now” and “We can’t see your eyes”.

New Zealand Muslim woman Farzana Saheb told Close Up the reaction in New Zealand  to her wearing the full burqa and veil varies a lot. “The sort of remarks you can see happening in Australia, that does happen on a regular basis sometimes to us,” she said. “Some people say ‘take it off’ while others will come up to you and say ‘you know you don’t have to wear that here.’ And some people do come up to you and ask nicely ‘so why do you have to wear that?’. And that’s I think the best way to come up to us because we’re very willing to just explain our belief to you.”

Another Muslim woman living in New Zealand, Moveena Rasheed said: “If you’re in a mall or you’re walking people come up to you and say ‘remove that, why do you need to wear that’.” Rasheed said she “totally understands” why people find it disquieting to only see people’s eyes and not their faces. “And so I think it’s important how we react as well. It’s very important when I see someone reacting in a very negative manner that I do have an understanding that it’s something new for him or her. I think we need to take a step to educate ourselves.”

She said New Zealand is a tolerant and diverse country and she was surprised and saddened that the woman concerned had to go through the experience of not being allowed on a bus.

TVNZ, 5 July 2011

EDL anti-mosque protest in Blackpool

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Noor-A-Madina mosqueA protest will be staged by controversial group the English Defence League outside a Blackpool mosque they claim is illegal. The right-wing group has already launched a campaign on social networking website Facebook which claims the Noor A Madina Mosque on Waterloo Road, South Shore, contravenes planning regulation.

Members of the cultural centre are desperate to reassure the public they want to include people of all faiths in a bid to promote community cohesion, after super glue was poured into the locks of the mosque on Friday, June 24. Police have taken action to install CCTV cameras outside the building to ensure the safety of the family with children who live above.

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Petition and silent protest for release of Shaykh Raed Salah

Posted on by Bob Pitt

SILENT PROTEST FOR SHAYKH RAED SALAH

Monday 4 July 5.30-7pm opposite Downing Street

On Friday 1st July Shaykh Raed Salah was transferred from an Immigration Detention Centre to a formal prison. No good reason for this transfer has been given. The transfer to prison will significantly interfere with the preparation of Shaykh Salah’s appeal against the Deportation Order. The deadline for Shaykh Salah to Appeal is the 6th July 2011. The prison have informed Shaykh Salah’s lawyer that his legal team will not be able to visit him until the 11th July, 5 days after the deadline is due to pass.

The silent protest will symbolise both the British government’s attempt to silence Shaykh Raed Salah, and the government’s prevention of him speaking to his legal team.

Palestinians unite over condemnation of British government’s treatment of Shaykh Raed Salah

The Palestinian National Assembly for Jerusalem has expressed its dismay and condemnation of the British government’s action, joining with members of the Israeli Knesset, Fatah, Salam Fayyad, and the Follow Up Committee. Concern over his continued incarceration unites Palestinians from right across the Palestinian political spectrum.

Called by PSC, Stop the War Coalition, British Muslim Initiative, Palestinian Forum in Britain and Friends of Al-Aqsa

Please sign this petition which we plan to hand in to the Home Secretary for the release of Shaykh Salah.

We the undersigned:

• Call for the immediate release of Shaykh Raed Salah

• Call upon the Home Secretary to drop the deportation charges

• Consider Shaykh Raed Salah a human rights activist

• Call upon Home Secretary to allow him to refute and/or challenge the accusation levelled against him in court

www.ipetitions.com/petition/release-shaykh-raed-salah/

News South Wales: cops given power to remove veils during routine car stops

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Muslim women can be forced to remove their face veils during routine car stops under new powers granted to NSW police.

Premier Barry O’Farrell said cabinet had approved the move on Monday so police could properly identify motorists or any other people suspected of committing a crime.

“I don’t care whether a person is wearing a motor cycle helmet, a burqa, niqab, face veil or anything else, the police should be allowed to require those people to make their identification clear,” he said in a statement.

Last week, NSW Police Commissioner Andrew Scipione said police needed stronger powers to identify women who wear full facial veils.

Police have had the power to ask women to remove face veils during the investigation of serious offences but did not have such powers during routine car stops.

AAP, 4 July 2011

Update:  See “Qld cops won’t seek powers to remove veils”, AAP, 5 July 2011

And “WA to follow NSW on head covering law”, AAP, 5 July 2011